huiguanWade-Giles romanization hui-kuan, Pinyin Huiguan, series of guildhalls established by regional organizations (t’ung-hsiang tongxiang hui) in different areas of China during the Ch’ing Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12) as places where merchants and officials from the same locale or the same dialect groups could obtain food, shelter, and assistance while away from home. The hui-kuan were originated at Peking Some may have served as gathering places for professionals from the same fields.

The huiguan were originated in the early Ming dynasty at Beijing by the provincial guild of the southern Chinese province of KwangtungGuangdong. Eventually , they were constructed in all the major urban centres of the country. In the national and provincial capitals, the hui-kuanhuiguanwere often used by examination candidates coming to the city to compete in the civil - service tests necessary for admission to the government bureaucracy.

The hui-kuanhuiguanwere instrumental in building a feeling of solidarity among the members of a province or a certain region and played an important function in the growth of trade and commerce throughout the Ch’ing Qing dynasty. It was customary for overseas Chinese to set up huiguan in the cities of the countries where they settled.